XRP Is Down 50% in a Year and Zcash Is Up 2,361%. Can Zcash Hold $1,000?

While XRP and Bitcoin have spent a year bleeding out, a coin built to hide transactions just crossed a milestone that neither of them has reached. Whether that momentum survives its first full month in the spotlight is a very…

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The XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) price trades at $1.41, down 50% in the twelve months to September 5, while Zcash (CRYPTO:ZEC) has climbed 2,361% over the same period and cleared $1,000 for the first time on September 4.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is also down 28% over the year at $79,657, so two of the biggest coins in the market have fallen while a coin built to hide transactions has exploded. So what does Zcash have that XRP and Bitcoin don’t, and would it hold $1,000?

What Zcash Has That XRP and Bitcoin Do Not

Zcash is a privacy-based cryptocurrency that hides who sent a payment, who received it and how much it was. Most blockchains publish every transaction, so anyone can read the amounts and the addresses involved. XRP and Bitcoin work that way, but Zcash doesn’t, which is what sets it apart.

Moreover, the SEC closed a two-year investigation into the Zcash Foundation on January 14, 2026, without taking any action. That’s a regulator closing its file on a coin built to hide transactions, and it came after years of pressure on privacy tools in the U.S. that had prosecutors treating them as money-laundering software.